Dr. Nasser Ali Al JarALLAH THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Dr. Nasser Ali Al JarALLAH

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY What a medical secretary is. Medical communications. Records in a medical office. Insurance claims processing and accounting procedures. Medical office technology. Medical mini-glossary.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY What a medical secretary is. The medical secretary is a trained member of the medical health-care team, who can performs the administrative and secretarial functions required at particular medical facility.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Tasks of medical secretary: There can be no routine in handling patients because each patient is different, with specific needs. Administrative/Secretarial Duties; Handling the telephone. Obtaining and recording messages from the answering service. Scheduling, canceling, rescheduling patients’ appointments.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Administrative/Secretarial Duties (cont.); Greeting patients. Recording patients’ visits. Quoting and collecting fees. Sending out bills. Preparing and processing insurance claim forms. Maintaining financial records.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Administrative/Secretarial Duties (cont.); Ordering and maintaining office supplies and equipment. Typing and transcribing dictated and handwritten correspondence and case histories. Composing correspondence. Maintaining patients’ records.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Administrative/Secretarial Duties (cont.); Opening, sorting, and distributing mail. Handling petty cash. Making bank deposits. Taking patients’ medical histories. Assisting patients in understanding the doctor’s instructions regarding their prescribed health-care treatment. Filing and pulling patients’ charts, reports, and records for their visits. Arranging for patients’ hospital reservations.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Clinical duties; Taking patients’ medical histories. Measuring patients’ vital signs : temperature, pulse, respiration, blood pressure. Sterilizing instruments and equipment. Positioning and draping patients for examination.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Clinical duties (cont.); Collecting specimens form patients and either sending them to a laboratory or performing certain diagnostic tests for which one has been trained. Taking electrocardiograms. Assisting doctors with the patients’ examinations or treatment, if needed. Keeping medical supply cabinets well stocked.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Qualifications for medical secretary depend: On whether the specific position requires mainly secretarial/administrative tasks, clinical tasks, or both. On the specialty of the physician. On the nature and size of the medical facility.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Qualifications ( cont.): Medical secretary should have: A desire to help people. Strong interpersonal skills. Personal characteristics such as patience, poise, tact, consideration, dependability, punctuality, and flexibility. Carefulness, accuracy, and attention to detail, as well as respect for confidentiality. A well-groomed appearance .

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Qualifications ( cont.): Medical secretary should have: Proficient in English pronunciation, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A basic understanding of anatomy, medical terminology, and the legal implications of the practice of medicine.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY If medical secretary is required to perform clinical duties, he/she should: Know about the instruments used in the medical practice and their proper care and use. Be familiar with the methods of sterilization. Other related medical knowledge. Educational requirements: The minimum is a high school diploma, however, many positions require additional education.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Educational requirements (cont.): Vocational/technical institutes offer three-to-six month training programs. Many of them tow-years colleges offer an associate’s degree program. Courses cover medical transcription, medical assisting procedures, keyboarding , business English, accounting , word processing, basic biological sciences, basic laboratory techniques, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and human relations.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Places of employment: May be employed in; A doctor’s office. A medical clinic. A hospital. A public health facility. A health maintenance organization (HMO). A nursing home. A research center.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Places of employment: Places of employment (cont.): A laboratory. An insurance company. A pharmaceutical company. A government or private health services agency. A medical transcription services. A business of manufactures medical supplies and equipment.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law: Medicine is the oldest profession to have developed a code to govern its practitioners. The principles of right and wrong are referred to as medical ethics. Medical ethics concerns itself with a standard of conduct, medical etiquette deals with courtesy, manners, and customs. These tow areas complement each other.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law (cont.): Oath of Hippocrates (400 B.C) has been taken by physicians for centuries and remains an inspiration to the physicians of today. The American Medical Association (AMA) formulated its own principles of medical ethics. In general, principles prescribe who must be licensed to perform various procedures, the requirement for licensure, the duties imposed by licensure, and government regulations.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law (cont.): Professional liability encompasses all civil liability that a physician can incur as a result of professional acts. Negligence as applied to the medical is called “malpractice”. Most of patients never consider taking legal actions against their physicians.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law (cont.): Preventing litigation can be by : Establishing good patient rapport. Keeping all information confidential. Avoiding the transmittal of criticisms of physicians to a patient. Avoiding discussion of a patient’s condition, diagnosis, or treatment with him or her. Keeping complete and accurate records. Obtaining proper authorization, releases and consents.

Using discretion in telephone and office conversations. THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law (cont.): Preventing litigation can be by ; Using discretion in telephone and office conversations. Notifying the physician if learning that the patient is under treatment by another physician for the same condition. Being available to assist the doctor.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical ethics and the Law (cont.): The relationship between doctor and patient is legally considered as a contract. All information furnished to a doctor by patient is considered confidential and may not be divulged to any unauthorized person.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Professional organization and certifications; Join professional associations and apply for certification. Associations such as; American association of medical assistants (AAMA). American association of medical transcription (AAMT).

Medical communications: Telephone; Dealing Patient Health problems. THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Telephone; Dealing Patient Health problems. The telephone should be answered by the second ring at the latest.

Medical communications: Telephone (cont,); Save the doctor’s time. THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Telephone (cont,); Save the doctor’s time. Complete information for each call in message book with carbons copies.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Telephone; The information noted should include; Date and time of call. Person called. Caller’s name. Caller’s phone number. Action to be taken. Complete message. Name of the person who took the call.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Answering service ; Used for after-office hours. Automatically or programmed . Checks for messages. Recorded message can be used.

Medical communications: Appointment ; THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Appointment ; Should Not be too closely or far. Vary in length according the purpose and doctor specialty.

Medical communications: Appointment ; Details should be recorded. THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Appointment ; Details should be recorded. Check mark should be placed.

Medical communications: Appointment ; Ditto marks for appointments . THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Appointment ; Ditto marks for appointments . Diagonal lines for not available.

Medical communications: Appointment ; THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Appointment ; A medical emergency is immediate. Patient should be called for rescheduled other than canceling.

Medical communications: Greeting patients ; THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Greeting patients ; Make the patient feel at ease. Patients should be identified and asked to be seated in the waiting room.

THE MEDICAL SECRETARY Medical communications: Correspondence ; The letters must be courteous, concise, complete, accurately, typewritten, properly formatted, and proofread. Correspondence leaving is like the proper telephone use.